Respect & Things Fall Apart

     In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the themes on the importance of respect can shed some light on the issues of West African child trafficking. In West Africa, child traffickers move hundreds of people each day with utter disregard for the people they are moving. Even after being sold, these slaves have no rights and receive very little respect. In order to stop child trafficking, people must start to respect the victims.  The world is already filled with problems that requires global cooperation to fix. However, not respecting people should not be a problem. There has been so many events that have taught humans the importance of respect. It could be the World Wars or the numerous civil rights movements. Sadly, some people out there have not learned. This applies to the traffickers and their business partners. Those people do not care that they are ruining the lives of countless children and affecting people all around. Many children, especially those in West Africa, are trafficked because they follow people who promise to give them work. Many of these kids just want work so they can receive some money to help sustain their family. Now, if the traffickers and their partners were respectful to the children, would it still be child trafficking? In reality, traffickers are just "evil" social workers. They help relocate kids and find them "homes." Even if the traffickers did not change, then the common citizen must. The citizen's apathy towards child trafficking could also be considered as a lack of respect. In general, people just do not care. A change in this belief would have drastic results. It is very possible that many people would take action towards ending child trafficking. Respect is an important trait people must have to help stop child trafficking. If the bad guys do not change, then it is up to the people. A simple change, it will nevertheless have a great impact on our society; leading it towards a brighter future.

Works Cited

1. Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. Print.